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Do first names play a big role in the gender pay gap?

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gender-equality

With Equal Pay Day fast approaching on 10th November, new research conducted using Adzuna’s ValueMyCV algorithm has exposed the gender bias using the average earning potential for female and male first names.

With Equal Pay Day (10th November) marking the day when women in Britain effectively stop earning relative to men in the year, a new comprehensive report from jobs search engine Adzuna.co.uk reveals ‘Liz’ is the highest salaried female first name, but there are 317 male names ahead of her.

The research, conducted through Adzuna’s ValueMyCV algorithm has exposed the average earning potential of male and female individuals and shows first names can significantly impact earning potential.

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The results found that out of the 1,000 names listed with corresponding average salaries, only 13 per cent of females earned an average salary of over £30,000 compared to over half of males (60 per cent).

Despite ‘Liz’ sitting in this bracket as the top female name with the highest average salary of £38,792, 317 male names exceeded her with ‘Ed’ (£61,362) sitting at top spot. So, despite Queen ‘Liz’ reigning the country, and famous faces like Liz Hurley and Liz Taylor hitting the big screen, the real money lies with famous ‘Ed’s like Ed Sheeran, Ed Miliband and Ed Balls.

Following ‘Ed’, ‘Giles’ (£59,390), ‘Gerry’ (£58,527), ‘Philippe’ (£57,787) and ‘Bill’ (£56,731) complete the top five. While, ‘Jo ‘(£38,741) is the next female name to appear after ‘Liz’ in 319th position, with third female on the list ‘Michele’ ranked 420th (£36,305), fourth female ‘Alexis’ ranked 423rd (£36,240) and fifth ‘Syed’ ranked 438th (£36,015).

When it comes to the lowest earning names, nine out of 10 of the lowest earning names are female, including; ‘Paige’ ranked 1,102nd (£20,190), ‘Chelsea’ ranked 1,101th (£21,044) and ‘Bethany’ ranked 1,100th (£21,488). While the lowest earning male is ‘Reece’ ranked 1,093th (£22,952) and the second and third lowest earning male names are ‘Connor’ ranked 1,074th (£24,471) and ‘Patryk’ ranked 1,054th (£25,207).

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, commented:

Despite the Equal Pay Act in 1970, women still earn less than men in Britain today and this isn’t changing fast enough. Equal Pay Day fell on the 10th November last year and the year before showing the Gender Pay Gap is not closing over time.

“While most employers recognise women are key to the economy and contribute to the success of this country, they are not being paid to reflect this. True career equality for men and women is still, sadly, a work in progress and this is highlighted with the top paid female name ‘Liz’ sitting so appalling low on the overall charts. It’s perhaps no surprise though that ‘Ed’ is the highest earning name as the moniker itself represents “rich guard”, “wealth” and “fortune”

Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!

Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.

Aphrodite is also a professional painter.

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